The Anonymous Widower

Okehampton Interchange Station Opens

Okehampton Interchange station was officially opened yesterday.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the station.

Note.

1. Okehampton is to the West.
2. There is a single 100 metre long platform on the North side of the single-track Dartmoor Line.
3. I suspect, that by using selective door opening, a five-car Class 800/1/2 train could serve the station.
4. There is a bridge with lifts between the platform and the car-park.
5. It appears there is a drop-off point on the North side of the station.

I have a few thoughts on the design.

Could A Second Track And Platform Be Added?

It would obviously depend on passenger numbers and how they used the station, but it does look as if the station has left space for a second track and platform.

The lifts, that would be needed to cross the tracks have already been installed.

It looks like the station has been designed with this possibility in mind.

Will Any Local Buses Serve Okehampton Interchange Station?

I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this reply.

New timetables are due 30th August 2026.

118 Tavistock to Okehampton service will be the only bus to connect to the new station, all the other buses currently serving the old station will continue to do so.

That seems to be sensible.

Could Okehampton Interchange Station Be Used As The Eastern End Of An Alternative Route To Cornwall?

This paragraph has been taken from the Wikipedia entry for Dawlish station.

After a major storm in 2014 washed out the track bed and made an 80-metre (260 ft) breach in the sea wall north of the station, plans were developed to reinforce and replace the sea wall around the station area. This work, which was expected to cost £80 million, started in 2020[10] and was largely completed in late summer 2022. During this time, the sea wall walkway was raised to platform level and both platforms were resurfaced. The platform lighting was also improved. An accessible footbridge, built to replace the previous at-grade crossing for passengers who can’t use stairs, opened on 15 March 2024.

The seas along the coast can be ferocious and it would be unwise to say that another major storm will never wash the railway away again.

An in any case, the line to Cornwall will be occasionally closed for engineering works.

But given, that Okehampton Interchange, Launceston and Bodmin Parkway stations are all handy for the a30 road, which is a fast dual carriageway.

I believe that between Okehampton Interchange and Bodmin Parkway stations would be an ideal route for one of the new 10000 km. range hydrogen-powered coaches, that are being developed by Wrightbus and Mercedes among thers.

August 1, 2026 - Posted by AnonW | Artificial Intelligence, Transport/Travel, Uncategorized | Bodmin Parkway Station, Class 800 Train, Cornwall, Dawlish Weather Problems, Devon, Hydrogen-Powered Coaches, Launceston Station, Okehampton Interchange Station, Okehampton Station, Rail Engineering Works